Washington mood exultant, sober

The jubilation of Sunday night gave way to exultant but sober appraisal of the future Monday, as Washington came to terms with a national security landscape altered — but not necessarily righted — by the death of Osama bin Laden.

Throughout the federal government, officials strove to hit the correct notes: triumph devoid of gloating, patriotism without jingoism. In subtle but deliberate strokes, Republicans praised the military, while Democrats congratulated President Barack Obama.

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At the White House, Obama administration officials were eager to stand victorious in the successful covert mission to kill the terrorist mastermind but hastened to add warnings that the world is not yet safe from violence and harm.

“I think we can all agree this is a good day for America,” Obama said at a medal of honor ceremony in the East Room. “Our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done, the world is safer, is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a former senator from New York — the epicenter of destruction on Sept. 11, 2001 — warned the battle doesn’t end with the death of Al Qaeda’s leader.

“I know there are some who doubted this day would ever come, who questioned our resolve and our reach,” Clinton said. “But let us remind ourselves, this is America — we rise to the challenge, we persevere and we get the job done.”

The mood at the White House was quietly euphoric — the hated bin Laden cut down on the orders of Obama, whom many Republicans had lightly regarded, even scorned, in the fight against terrorism.

Administration officials had worked late into the night alongside the president and faced another long day, piecing together the aftermath of the greatest strike against terrorism in decades.

Longtime adversaries stepped up with guarded praise.

“Al Qaeda remains a dangerous enemy,” said former Vice President Dick Cheney, a frequent critic of the Obama administration’s national security policy. “Though bin Laden is dead, the war goes on.”

Obama hosted a dinner of bipartisan committee chairmen, ranking members and their spouses at the White House on Monday night. What had been planned as a private event keyed to fiscal policy was shifted in part to national security — with a statement from the president added to the schedule for press coverage.

For the administration, the death of bin Laden presents an opportunity to push once again for broader, bipartisan cooperation on a range of issues. The White House hopes to seize this moment and employ echoes of post-attack unity in much the same way former President George W. Bush pushed through his agenda amid the patriotic, politically unifying aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.